FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 21, 2021
Contact: Kristofer Sippel
CEO/Superintendent of Schools
San Tan Charter School Inc.
480-222-0811
San Tan Charter School Offers Outstanding Learning Opportunities for Gifted Students from Preschool Through Twelfth Grade
San Tan Charter School Supports their Gifted Students in the Montessori Preschool Classrooms, the Kinderversity Kindergarten Experience, Self-Contained Classrooms and the Scholar’s Prep Program
GILBERT, Arizona—As the parent of a gifted child, Alisa Johnson understands and appreciates the academic, social and emotional importance of having her child enrolled in a gifted program at school.
As the second grade gifted teacher at San Tan Charter School in Gilbert, Johnson also sees first-hand every day how even the youngest gifted learners thrive when they are in the right academic setting.
“My goal as a teacher in general is to create globally aware, humanities scholars, even at the second grade level,” Johnson said.
Unlike some other schools throughout the Southeast Valley that do not offer a gifted program until the upper elementary grades, San Tan Charter School starts supporting their gifted learners in their Montessori preschool classrooms.
The gifted students continue in the Kinderversity kindergarten experience before going into self-contained gifted programs through sixth grade, all taught by teachers who truly understand the gifted brain.
Starting in the seventh grade, San Tan offers the Scholar’s Prep Program, which runs through twelfth grade. This allows the school’s advanced scholars to experience project-based learning opportunities in addition to their academics that will keep them engaged and interested in learning.
“These classrooms go deep into the curriculum where students are able to generate new knowledge based on the creativity and backgrounds of both students and the teachers,” said Brandon Tauscher, Principal of the school’s 7-12 Power Campus.
As Sarah Laramie, Principal of the school’s K-6 Recker Campus noted, the commitment to offering gifted programs for every student, combined with the self-contained gifted classroom model and project-based environment, help to make San Tan Charter School’s gifted program unique.
“Having students who are gifted grouped together gives students the opportunity to learn and grow with students who understand each other,” Laramie said, adding that parents also appreciate the self-contained nature of the gifted program.
“Over the years, the students grow up together in a culture of understanding.”
For Johnson, one of the most rewarding parts of her job is watching as her second grade students begin to understand that academics and learning doesn’t happen in a vacuum.
“I am always blown away by the capacity and potential of students who not only have grasped academic content at a quicker pace but who are also interested in the global world and want to go deeper, farther and higher in that understanding,” she said.
“I find that gifted students love to take things like reading and/or math which have been relatively easy for them and use those skills to learn more—either with independent learning and research projects or whole class exploration.”
Leslie Risan, who taught the fifth grade gifted program at San Tan and retired at the end of
the school year, said she appreciates the way the students in the gifted program are recognized and acknowledged for their unique learning style.
“Gifted students love to learn something new each day and teachers strive to meet that need,” she said. “They succeed because they are given the choices and challenges they need to stay interested and engaged.”
Laramie said she has loved watching as the gifted community has grown over the years at San Tan, as well as adapted with the needs of the students.
“I have also particularly enjoyed watching our gifted students succeed in the academic competitions they compete in. I love watching their faces as they place in the top tiers of these competitions, they are so excited,” she said.
“I also love watching the students present their projects that they have created in their classrooms. Their passion and creativity are just contagious.”
***ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST***For more information about San Tan Charter School’s unique gifted program and/or to interview staff, students and/or parents whose children are enrolled in the program, please contact Kris Sippel at 480-222-0811.
About San Tan Charter School:
San Tan Charter School is a Kinder-12th grade public non-profit tuition free charter school with two campuses in the East Valley within minutes of each other. The Power campus is a Junior High/High School serving students in grades 7-12 and the Recker campus is an elementary school serving students K-6 including a private Montessori preschool infant, toddler, and PreK. The school uses a Love and Logic® approach to classroom management that is focused on building relationships and communicating with respect. The school focuses on “Education with a Purpose,” which means the teachers encourage their students’ love of learning, which enables them to face challenges and develop critical thinking skills. San Tan Charter School also offers a championship athletics experience, individualized learning plans, and college and career ready programs. The school is focused on maximizing each student’s intellectual development with Gifted & Montessori classrooms, Honors/AP classes, Concurrent/Dual Enrollment classes and robust elective choices including career and technical education (CTE). For more information, please visit https://santancharterschool.com/
